


Silence Is Golden, But So Is Your Voice

by Twiranux



Series: Our Little Times Together [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Board Games, Fluff, M/M, Rain, SelectiveMuteAU, Selectively Mute Adam, Selectively Mute Matt, Sign Language, Storms, Surprise Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-18 18:12:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7325365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twiranux/pseuds/Twiranux
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt shrugs, and begins to place his little ships onto the pegs, thinking tactically. Adam's style, usually, was to check the middle of the board and spread out as circularly as possible. Matt picked up Adam’s tricks quickly, and Adam is close to figuring out Matt’s strategy. Nowadays, winning was purely based on luck, not tactic. Both seem to sway to improving their tactics. Or they could perhaps just start playing with others instead of consistently going head to head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silence Is Golden, But So Is Your Voice

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: They play a board game one stormy night. A major protagonist does something completely out of character, and everyone must figure out why. “It was more than I wanted and that was good.”

A slam interrupts the silence of the living room, the coffee table shaking a little bit. Matt adjusts his two hoodies, and the sweatpants he's wearing rubs against Adam’s soft carpet. Matt was most comfortable in Adam’s clothes, since his shirts were too big, and Matt loves that. Matt his beard in confusion, and looks up back at Adam. A storm was looming over, quite unfortunate that the power went out. Adam was forced to clean up his tiny shelf holding number of board games, and to pick one, as it was Matt’s request.

‘ ** _What is this?_ ** ’ Matt signs, then gestures Adam to sit next to him. Adam shakes his head in response, Matt frowns, and places his hands under the table.

He signs something Adam does not see. Adam tries to look under, and gets a bit frustrated. Matt smiles, then he sheepishly looks away. The rain, despite rough it is, calms Matt. He imagines kissing Adam under an umbrella as they take a stroll. Matt likes the more cloudy days than Adam, who preferred sunnier days where they could maybe play sports or exercise together every now and again.

Adam disrupts the moment by loudly tapping down on the table. His fingers start hurting before getting the attention of Matt.

‘ ** _What did you sign_ ** **?** ’ Adam asks, then begins to prepare the board, coughing a little at the collected dust over the years.

Matt places his hands on the table, observing all the little intricate board designs and pieces.

‘ ** _This game looks interesting, as always._ ** ’ Matt clarifies, as he picks up a yellowed instruction booklet. ' _ **You always choose a good one from our little pile.**_ ' Adam nods, and begins to set up the pieces. They both enjoy this game, but Matt moreso than Adam. There have been one too many instances where Matt preferred board games over video games, and over time Adam got used to it. The board game is simply Battleship.

‘ ** _I kind of wish it wasn't raining,_ ** ’ Adam stops signing for a second, and sighs. He looks out of the window, watching the rain fall rather violently. ‘ ** _We could be playing some baseball._ ** ’ The thunder is soft against the walls and windows of Adam’s home, but the rain remains relentless.

Matt shrugs, and begins to place his little ships onto the pegs, thinking tactically. Adam's style, usually, was to check the middle of the board and spread out as circularly as possible. Matt picked up Adam’s tricks quickly, and Adam is close to figuring out Matt’s strategy. Nowadays, winning was purely based on luck, not tactic. Both seem to sway to improving their tactics. Or they could perhaps just start playing with others instead of consistently going head to head.

‘ ** _You first,_ ** ’ Adam points out, as he finalizes the last location of his ship. He tinkers with the red and white pieces, as Matt looks over what to hit first. Adam is the kind to hide a couple of his ships on the very edges of the map; the rest evenly spaced out within the middle.

‘ ** _F1,_ ** ’ Matt signs, as he observes Adam’s body movements, as well as his facial expressions. His eyebrows raise, as he notices Adam breathing out of his mouth more than usual. Matt found it odd how Adam even opened his mouth, as if sound were to come out.

Adam and Matt never talked to anyone. Strangers, friends, coworkers, and even some family members were all treated the same, meeting their shut mouths but quick hands. Every now and again a sound would come out, but no real words. Matt notices Adam's odd behavior of almost speaking for the first time. He fixes his hoodie again, playing with the strings. Adam sticks his tongue out.

‘ ** _Hit,_ ** ’ Adam signs, as he places a red peg marker on his 5-hit ship.

Matt nods his head in confidence. He points to Adam, signifying it is his turn now.

‘ ** _G3,_ ** ’ Adam chooses, after giving it much consideration. He tensing up, his legs and feet practically glued onto the carpet, unmoving. He stares into Matt's eyes. The response he receives is a shake of Matt’s head.

‘ ** _Miss._ ** ’ Adam could feel the word slow and heavy against Matt’s gesture. It drags him down a little, as he settles in a white peg on his board.

The other turns pass by rather quickly, with Matt taking down Adam's first ship successfully, and Adam missing 3 or his 4 shots. Every miss signed by Matt made Adam furrow his eyebrows and scrunch up his freckled nose. His white pegs sort of mocked him, as he swears that Matt's usual tactics were not present, or even if it is being used at all. Matt preferred sticking his ships more inwardly, with only one near the side of the board. Adam only manage to hit one due to pure chance.

‘ ** _I’ve been unlucky, goddamn,_ ** ’ Adam complains, as Matt ends up hitting another one of his ships.

‘ _ **I**_ ** _ **’** m sorry,_ ** ’ Matt apologizes then frowns. ‘ ** _We don't have to play if you don't want to._ ** ’

Matt places both of his hands onto the top half of the small plastic casing, slowly pushing it inwards, signifying a concede or draw for the game.

“Don’t--” Adam gets up off the carpet, then stops. A crash of thunder and lightning interrupts Adam, both of them in astonishment. Adam screams in fright, the unexpected loudness forcing his vocal cords to make sound, while Matt sits back, afraid of both the lightning and hearing Adam’s voice for the first time. Matt is silent during the entire time.

‘ ** _Did you just talk?_ ** ’ Matt questions, taking time to sign each word carefully. Adam says nor signs anything back. His head lays low, forehead against his Battleship board, and eyes cast down. He has never disappointed Matt before, or betrayed him. Signing to each other was the one intimate thing that kept them tied when in public, it made them stand out but also kept their conversations hidden. Speaking up, in front of Matt out of all people, makes Adam’s stomach twist and pull in painful but indescribable ways.

Matt taps the table, trying to get Adam’s attention, of which Adam ignores. After a minute, Matt stops tapping. Adam is sniffling, and still hasn't looked up. Sighing, Matt closes both of their game cases, but remains on his side of the table. He then sighs, then sucks in a bit of air. Heart pounding, thoughts begin to spin around in Matt's head.

“Adam, it's okay,” Matt speaks softly, his voice resonating to Adam's core. Adam opens his eyes, and wipes his face with his hands. He looks up, seeing a nervously smiling Matt, who is shifting ever so closely toward him, going around the table. Adam grins widely, his cheeks flushing, as he closes the gap between the two.

‘ ** _You talked,_ ** ’ Adam signs, as Matt chuckles lightly then nods.

‘ ** _So did you._ ** ’ Matt gives a small kiss on the cheek. He hopes it is enough to assure Adam. ‘ ** _You have a nice voice._ ** ’

The fact that Matt never rushed things made Adam melt every time. He could literally wait entire decades for Adam, all that mattered was that they were both happy. Adam nuzzles against Matt, the warmth of his lover taking the edge off of his embarrassment. Their fingers intertwine, no longer minding the storm outside. They felt safe together.

“Let’s talk again sometime,” Adam murmurs, his voice vibrating against Matt’s neck, causing Matt to giggle.


End file.
